Newsgroups: talk.origins,sci.skeptic,alt.religion.christian,alt.christnet,talk.religion.misc,alt.postmodern,sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!newsfeed.pitt.edu!newsflash.concordia.ca!news.nstn.ca!ott.istar!istar.net!van.istar!west.istar!n1van.istar!van-bc!nntp.portal.ca!news.bc.net!info.ucla.edu!agate!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!news.moneng.mei.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news.mathworks.com!uunet!in3.uu.net!hearst.acc.Virginia.EDU!murdoch!usenet
From: dcs2e@darwin.clas.virginia.edu (David Swanson)
Subject: Re: Language difficulty/variation
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: ara-mac-220.itc.virginia.edu
Message-ID: <Dv9sBp.357@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
X-Posted-From: InterNews 1.0.1@ara-mac-220.itc.virginia.edu
Sender: -Not-Authenticated-[9087]
Organization: University of Virginia
References: <4t4ra0$c61@news.ox.ac.uk> 
 <Dv6EM0.4Ez@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> <4tdkj5$clf@csu-b.csuohio.edu>  
 <4tffea$7rp@news.ox.ac.uk>
Date: Sun, 28 Jul 1996 20:16:37 GMT
Xdisclaimer: No attempt was made to authenticate the sender's name.
Lines: 23
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu sci.skeptic:193020 sci.lang:58528

In article <4tffea$7rp@news.ox.ac.uk>
patrick@gryphon.psych.ox.ac.uk (Patrick Juola) writes:

> The complexity of a language is directly related to the number of bits
> of information (Shannon-theoretic model) that must be transferred from
> one native speaker of the language to another in order to communicate
> a proposition -- averaged of course over speakers and propositions.
> 
> Mr. Swanson, of course, will tear this definition to shreds as he
> believes neither in information nor in communication.
> 
>         Patrick


Maybe not shreds.  Largeish chunks certainly.  I don't know what
Shannon theory is, though I once had some interesting theories about a
particular Shannon, so you see I really can't comment, except to point
out that much of language hasn't got beans to do with "propositions,"
such as, for example, this: Read Carefully!

David

"Heideggerian hope comes into question." J.D.
